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Saturday, January 06, 2007

Curing Small Children with Pale Faces and Dark Circles Under the Eyes

Curing Small Children with Pale Faces and Dark Circles Under the Eyes

My experiences suggest that sunshine, several grams a day of vitamin C, and extra B-vitamins are much more effective at addressing the health problems of little children than they are at addressing the health problems of adults. It makes me very sad that parents and pediatricians are afraid of this safe and simple treatment. After blogging for over 6 years, I still feel this way. Read more here, here, and here

Every time I go to the mall, I see small children walk by with pale faces and dark circles under their eyes. If these kids were part of my family, I would ask them to consider my advice.

My recommended cure uses sunshine and three supplements that are inexpensive and easy to find. Sunshine is essential for good health. Vitamin D, one of only four vitamins that prevent named deficiency diseases, is manufactured by skin exposed to sunshine. Sunshine also maintains the circadian rhythm by causing the pineal gland to produce melatonin. A strong circadian rhythm improves the quality of sleep. It is hard to overstate the importance of optimal sleep for a developing child, and beyond the ability of modern medicine to test. I recommend parents read about the importance and complexity of sleep, and gain an awareness of how little we are able to know about whether or not our kids are really sleeping well. Sunlight is known to alleviate/eliminate allergies, to cause special cells in the skin to produce the alpha melanocyte stimulating hormone (so sunshine has been proven by science to cause the produce of at least three hormones!), to cause the production of a couple of neuropeptides, and to cause the release of endorphins. As time passes, science is likely to discover many other ways that sunshine plays a role in human metabolism. Until we know more, there is much to gain and little to lose by making sure children spend plenty of time outside every day.
Sunblock should only be used after your child has been exposed to 30 minutes of bright sunshine. The three supplements are 500 mg chewable vitamin C tablets, children’s chewable multivitamins, and 250 mg time-release niacin gel caps. If you have a toddler with a pale face and dark circles under the eyes, feed him or her 6 of the vitamin C tablets, one multivitamin, and 1/2 of one 250 mg time-release niacin gel cap. Follow up with 4 more vitamin C tablets before bedtime. Many toddlers are happy to take one kid’s chewable multivitamin and lots of chewable vitamin C. These taste good. Some children will not tolerate the vitamin C. It can cause discomfort in the intestines. If it does, stop the vitamin C for a few days and try again a few days later starting with just 1 tablet per day. The half niacin gel cap is the only toddler-unfriendly ingredient. Fortunately, niacin has a mild flavor. The gel cap is filled with tiny spheres. Break the gel cap in two and add half of the spheres to ice cream or pudding, or some other soft, sweet, toddler-friendly food. The niacin may cause the toddler to flush – a temporary reddening of the skin. Although the flushing can be unpleasant, it is harmless. Further, flushing is unusual with time-release niacin gel caps at such a low dosage. Keep going with 125 mg/day of time release niacin and the vitamin C, 4 chewable tablets every morning and every bedtime until the dark circles are gone and are replaced by rosy cheeks. Sunshine, 4 chewable vitamin C tablets and a multivitamin should be obtained every day, even when healthy.

Why are so few other people concerned with toddlers that have pale faces and dark circles under their eyes? More importantly, why are so few other parents concerned? Does anyone really believe that these toddlers are in robust good health? Is it just a feeling of helplessness? Is it because the condition doesn’t have a name?

Toddlers all go through a crucial period of immune system development. These years are their first exposure to the ordinary diseases that are a natural part of our environment. The most ordinary of these ordinary diseases are viral respiratory tract infections. Because toddlers are developing immunity, the average toddler has 8 to 10 respiratory tract infections/year. A typical infection lasts a week start to finish. Therefore the average toddler is dealing with a cold for 3 months of every year. This means below average toddlers are dealing with a cold more than half the year. I believe that this can cause tremendous stress and runs the risks of permanent consequences. That’s why I’m alarmed when I see kids with pale faces and dark circles.

All parents should be open to the idea that toddlers with pale faces and dark circles could be in better health. All parents should be open to the possibility that sunshine and extra vitamins are especially useful for rapidly growing toddlers. I know where that leaves parents. They can try sunshine and extra vitamins and know that they are nearly on their own without the support of friends, family, or pediatricians. Or they can do nothing and risk the consequences of their inaction – asthma, obesity, chronic respiratory infections, learning disabilities, sinusitis, ear infections, etc. Doing nothing is tragic because sunshine and vitamin supplements are safe and inexpensive. There is much to gain and almost nothing to lose from giving sunshine and vitamins a try.

153 Comments:

Steve,Thanks for your post. I am a firm believer in taking the natural route first whenever my son (who is 2 1/2) is sick. I've noticed that lately he has dark circles under his eyes and my google search bought me to this article. I'm going to give the Vitamin C a try. My husband and I take 1000 mg of VItamin C almost daily and feel pretty good. I imagine my son will also benefit greatly from your Vitamin C recommendations.

hmmm....I USED to think exactly like you Steve....until I had a (sickly looking) child of my own. ALLERGIES...yes, to dust, mold, ragweed, trees. He is only three! It's amazing what a few simple changes at home has made and things that we have found that have deeply impacted and possibly caused the allergy in the first place (water settling in our central a/c air handler in the attic...MOLD). It's amazing how easy it is to jump to conclusions "at a glance" when you look at someone. BTW, I am a home grown/organic/natural as they get...

Thanks for your comment. I agree that allergies are also an important root cause of pale faces and dark circles. By all means, parents should have their children checked for allergies if they are not thriving. In my opinion, the vitamins I recommend will help whatever strategy is employed to fight the allergies. I believe parents should protect their children from allergens and give them a multivitamin, extra niacin, and vitamin C.

If I were to walk through the mall with my 6 year old, I would be one of the people targeted in this blog. A parent that doesn't care, or seem to. And I guess that's why I am responding. Because you are making a huge assumption when you see people and don't know their story. I personally don't feel attacked by this article and feel that parents should definitely do what is necessary to keep their children in good health. Let me tell you my story, and how such comments don't always apply.

My son has been sick his entire life. I have been called everything from an "over-worried first time mother" to a "mother with Munchausens." My son has many diseases and I have always advocated for his health, even at the expense of friendships and family relations. When my son was 4, after trying elimination diets, and putting him on a gluten free diet, and using Papaya Enzymes to stabilize his gut because he had diarrhea his whole life, I finally saw a commercial about PI (or Primary Immunodeficiency). It was a 30 second commercial which has saved my sanity.

To make a long story short, I took my son 475 miles away to a Pediatric Immunologist that specialized in PI. The very first thing he did was test my son for allergies, which I knew for sure my son had. One of the reasons I was so sure was because of his pale skin and dark circles under his eyes.

When the doctor came back into the room to inform me that my son had absolutely NO allergies, my first thought was that he was crazy. Then he told me he would perform a humoral essay study. This was a 2 part test and I had to return in a month.

6 weeks later, I found out that my son has an Antibody Deficiency. He also has non-allergic rhinitis and moderate asthma.

My son takes asthma meds, prophylactic antibiotics, rhinitis med and nerve pain medicine. Because he is on all of these medicines I have been informed by all of his specialists and his pharmacist that I am under no circumstances to add ANYTHING including natural medicines to his regimen.

I don't like to have to give my son ANY medicine, especially synthetic. But I am dealing with a child who has multiple brain cysts, syringomyelia, Chiari Malformation 1, Ehlers Danlos Type 4, a cystic mass in his sacrum, among other things. At this point, 6 months after brain surgery, we are looking at another brain surgery. We are also looking at possible spine surgery. My son is in constant pain and cannot tell when he needs to go to the bathroom without medication.

So, back to the shiners. Tonight he was sent to bed with shiners. He is pale. I will take him in in the morning and they will most likely diagnose a sinus infection. I have done and am doing everything possible to keep my child healthy. But when I walk through the mall and I cross your path (theoretically), the assumption is, I'm not advocating for my child. I hope that you now realize that that's not always true. I just thought you should hear the other side of the story.

I'm so sorry that you've misunderstood me! This column is written for you, not against you. You are afraid to give your son extra vitamins because your pediatricians have recommended strongly against this course of action.

Your son gets vitamins supplements every day in the food that he eats. If your son did not get any vitamins, he would die. If you choose to give your son extra vitamin C, extra niacin, and a multivitamin, you will only be increasing the daily dose of nutrients he is already eating.

If you left your son in my care, I would take the risk of feeding him vitamin supplements. I would not expect the vitamins to make much of an immediate, obvious difference. Your son has many problems, some of which could heal with time. Extra vitamin C and extra vitamins have proven, healing powers.

If you read my other columns, you'll understand that I agree with your decision to seek professional help and treat your son with prescription medication. The medications attack the illnesses. The vitamins are complementary. They help the body heal. It's a little bit over simplistic, but perhaps useful to think of prescription medications as tools that attack diseases and vitamins as tools that promote healing.

This is very interesting information. I once took my daughter who is 6 now, to a holistic pediatrician/allergist. He recommended 2000 mg. of buffered Vitamin C a day to help her allergies and asthma. Of course my regular pediatrician thought I was insane to give her that much!

Steve...I read where you recommend 6 Vit. C chewable tablets a day. So would that make it a total of 3000 mg. a day? Just checking to make sure.

I am so thankful that i have found this comlumn! Just today I told my husband we had to figure out why are 2 and half yr. old daughter always looked so much more pale & sickly than other chidren!! Im running out to buy vitamins now! Thankyou!

Thanks for asking about the type of niacin. The niacin you purchased is probably niacin inositol, or some other ester of niacin. It will probably work fine. I used time-release niacin with my kids so that's what I recommend because I am conservative. I also prefer time-release niacin because the safety is so well understood. Go ahead and use the niacin you bought. But next time try and get the time-release niacin that I recommend.

thanks for this information. i was recently told that there is a vitamin deficiency connected to my sons pale skin and dark circles. he's been like this since birth, and i just assumed he's one of those people with dark circles. but recently my sister (a preschool teacher) told me that her co-worker went to some seminar where they explained that there is a link between those kid's and their attitudes and it's some type of vitamin deficieny, something since birth. i've search and thanks to you ahve found my answer. let you know if his attitude gets better.

I'm glad I found your column, too. I've been worrying about my 4yr old daughter's conditions lately. She seems a bit low energy, gloomy, irritable, not sleeping well at night and most recently dark circles under the eyes. I will try your vitamin c recommendations for her dark circles under the eyes, but do you have other ideas why she might be this way? I know she doesn't eat enough (very very small portions) each meal to get the nutrients -- maybe this is the reason why. She gets full on really small portions and it's hard to get her to eat more. I'm thinking of trying vitamin B6 on her too, what do you think? I got a list of foods containing vitamin B6 and ready to hit the market tomorrow -- guess it doesn't hurt to start with the foodlist. Anyway, I've been researching the internet to trying to find out what's wrong with my daughter before I make the appointment to the pediatrition.

My recommendation is more than vitamin C. It is vitamin c, time-release niacin, and a multivitamin. The multivitamin contains a decent dose of vitamin B6. The three supplements I recommend are enough of a challenge to get into a 4 year old every day.

If you can manage the entire recommendation, please post a comment letting us know how you managed to persuade your daughter to eat all the vitamins. It wasn't hard for me with my kids, but all children are different.

Steve, Are you saying to give a toddler 3000mg of vitamin C? I have a two year old who has some dark circles under his eyes. I give him half of a chewable Flintstone and half of a 500mg. tablet of chewable vitamin C. He has a wonderful diet (chicken, avacado, veggies, fruits, etc). I try to buy organic when I can get it. I can't see giving him three times the amount of vitamin C that I take and I'm an adult. I'm also a nutrionist as well and feel the natural way is the only way. Thanks

As hard as it is to believe, 3000 mg/day is a conservative dose. It is only 50% higher than the UL of 2000 mg set by the Food and Nutrition board. The UL means that >95% of the population can take 2000 mg/day until they die with no harm. We're not recommending 3000 mg/day forever - just until the toddler gets well. 3000 mg/day is much lower than the highest doses reported (20,000 mg/day for toddlers) here.

I'm a scientist. I believe in what works, and try not to lose sleep trying to define a treatment as natural or un-natural. As a scientist, however, I'm comforted by the "naturalness" of this treatment. Fred Klenner reported teas made from plants contain 10,000 to 30,000 mg of vitamin C per cup and have long been used to ward off colds. See his report here.

I will definitely try your suggestions about the vitamins. My 2 year old looks horrible..... very pale skin with very dark circles under her eyes. She has acutally been diagnosed with an immune deficiency (when she was 7 moths old) and is receiving IVIG treatments every other week and has been for over a year. She has had fever every day of her life (no lie) since she was 6 weeks old..... We have an MRI scheduled next week to rule out a hypothalamus dysfunction, but I feel that it's all related to her low IgG levels. I do appreciate your suggestion and hope it helps her weak immune system.

I'm so sorry about your daughter. My thoughts and prayers will be with her, and you as well. I'm sure life is a struggle with a child who is so sick.

Please try the doses recommended in the column, and then come on back to the column and share your experience. If the recommended doses don't appear to be working, come on back for more advice. Your daughter is very sick and may benefit from more aggressive treatment.

Finally, make sure you get all the help you can from your pediatrician. Keep going with the testing and any recommended medications. Vitamins and pharmaceuticals often work better together than either do alone.

My nine year old has pale skin and dark circles under her eyes. She is being teased at school and its upsetting her. We have tried lots of water, extra sleep and an anti histamine none of which have got rid of the dark circles. What dosage should I give her of the vitamins? She is a healthy, lively girl apart from these circles.

I'm glad you found this column. Thanks for taking the time to leave a note. My working hypothesis, until disproven, is that safe vitamin doses don't change much with age. This is contrary to the situation with drugs, where toxicity is often a function of body weight. As a consequence, I recommend the same doses for 9-year-olds as for toddlers. I believe infants are best breast fed and that the mother should take extra vitamins.

So, there it is. Can your daughter swallow pills? If so, give her four 1 gm tablets of vitamin C (two pills in the morning and two in the evening), one 250 mg time-release niacin tablet or gel cap, and one multivitamin/mineral tablet. It will take longer for the dark circles to clear up in a 9-year old than in a toddler - give it a few months. You may also want to consider allergies. Doctors don't have any good way to test for food allergies - the easiest thing to try is a pseudo-fast for just 3 days. Pick a food like oatmeal or rice and have your daughter eat only oatmeal and/or rice for 3 days. This is pretty drastic and you and your daughter may not feel it's worth it. There's certainly no harm trying the vitamins first. There are a couple of other things I might recommend if this basic vitamin plan doesn't work. So - please come on back if this - the easiest solution - doesn't work.

Steve, Thank you for your Jan. '07article I just found. I know my 3.5yo daughter has food alleries and we are addressing those. As far as supplements, I'm wondering whether you think the Emergen-C product is a good one to use? The adult version has 100mg/C plus a broad B vitamins, the children's has B vitamins with 500mg/C--both are in a fizzy, tasty flavored drink mix. Or, is using a separate chewable C and multivitamin a better absorbed option for kids? Thank you!!!

Thanks for writing. Curing pale faces requires 2000 to 10,000 mg/day of vitamin C. The chewable tablets are typically 500 mg. So - your daughter should take at least 3 with breakfast and 3 more at bedtime. The Emergen-C does not have even close to enough. What it does is substitute for a multivitamin. I recommend two multivitamins/day for kids with pale faces. Time-release niacin is the final essential ingredient and it has to be purchased separately.

Good luck.

I know that this advice works. I have seen it with my own eyes many times. I also know it works because I'm not seeing negative comments from disappointed parents. For some reason, when the vitamins work, people just take their regained health for granted and go on with their lives (for some reason I do the same thing myself). This was a long prelude to commenting that I was very happy that an anonymous just dropped a comment letting us know that the vitamins were making an "incredible" difference in just three days. Great news! Keep spreading the words. There are millions more children out there who can benefit from extra vitamins too.

I totally disagree with everything written on this page except for the post about the ladys son GO HER!!!! If you feel your child looks sick he or she might be ask your childs DOCTOR what to do not some nut job of the net if you want them to have more vitamins FEED them more vitamin enriched foods!!!!!! there are plenty to choose from!!! i'm here to see what ppll say my 3 year old looks pale and has the dark circles but im not gonna start popping him full of pills and vitamins it just means we need to add a little more variety of vitamin filled foods!!!! USE YOUR BRAINS!!!!!!!

I completely agree with you that it is urgent to take sickly children to see a pediatrician, to follow up with specialists as recommended, and to take any prescribed medications. I do not recommend using vitamins as an alternative to conventional care and healthy food. I recommend vitamins as supplemental to these approaches.

I simply don't understand your passion. Why do you want to bully me into not feeding my kids extra vitamin C, extra niacin, and a multivitamin? You make it sound like I'm tormenting my children. (I'm not - don't ask me - ask them). Do you think the vitamins I recommend aren't safe? (the facts speak for themselves - these vitamins are sold without childproof caps and have the enviable lable of "generally recognized as safe" GRAS). Do you think the vitamins will neutralize the effect of conventional medications? (they don't - go to the Physicians Desk Reference - vitamins are rarely counter-indicated) Do you think vitamin makers are extorting outrageous profits by playing on the fears of parents? (they aren't - the vitamin C, niacin, and multivitamins I recommend can be purchased for just pennies a day. Generic vitamins are now a low margin, commodity product like flour or sugar with similar margins). Do you have an idea that I'm recommending an unending, undefined plan with no milestones? (I'm not. You should be happier about the health of your child within weeks of starting my recommendations) If the vitamins aren't working and your child is getting worse, or isn't getting better, by all means stop.

Please reconsider your logic. There is much to be gained and almost nothing to lose by seeing if extra vitamin C, niacin, and multivitamins can return your child to excellent health.

I had over the years taken my daughter to my GP, Consultant and a private Consultant. All three said she has dark circles as she is part Asian and Greek and her condidtion is hereditary. I totally diagree with them as not one member in either of the families have this condition. I believe it is an allergy but am at my wits end as my daughter is now a teenager and appearance matters. I did take her to a Kineologist who gave me a strict diet for her, which I find very hard to keep to as when she is at school/parties/other relatives she is tempted to eat the 'banned' food. Also I do not give them a lot of red meat. She also has a left displastic kidney therefore I am worried about giving her or my other children with the same condition the vitamin tablets advised. If safe for them I will try.

Please read my recent post about four special nutrients. In addition to the vitamin C, niacin, and multivitamin, you should consider supplementing your daughter with vitamin D and thiamine (as TTFD - preferably rubbed into the skin with cream).

I am not a physician and am not familiar with your daughter's kidney condition. I recommend checking with your pediatrician to double check the safety.

Do not ask your pediatrician if the vitamins are a good idea - just check on the safety and ask to see evidence. If your pediatrician says the vitamins are not safe, I'd recommend getting a second opinion. If you conclude they are not safe, please come back to the site and let me know why or provide me with contact information for the pediatricians. I collect all the information I can get on vitamin safety, and would like any new information for my files.

Hi to the Anonymous person that decided to hit a full on frontal assault against Steves "SUGGESTIONS". Perhaps not all of us are so lucky as to have a child that will eat enough vitamin enriched foods!!! My 3 year old son refuses to eat meats, vegetables or fruits. The only thing he will eat without arguement and hysterics is Yoghurts, cheese sticks and drink Milk. which although good sources of vitamins and minerals they are not enough. He has dark cirlces under his eyes and looks like he has been 10 rounds with Mike Tyson, but although I have my reservations about what Steve is saying (sorry Steve) I'm not about to be so close minded and pig headed. I'll give the vitamin C a try. I give my son a multivitamin already and I remember those yummy chewable Vitamin C tablets that do absolutely no harm to anybody.

I'm glad that you're going to add vitamin C to your child's diet. Please also consider adding the time-release niacin. Like the vitamin C, you can also say to yourself that the niacin will "do absolutely no harm to anyone". Please don't think too much about it - just give it a try. Then come back in six months and update us on the dark circles.

I hope that all readers have reservations about what I'm saying. My recommendations are far from the mainstream. I'm claiming that the RDA's for children are inadequate, and I'm accusing pediatricians of not providing good care for the children that count on them. I had a very uncomfortable relationship with my children's pediatrician. She refused to recommend that I take my children off the vitamins (their improved health spoke for itself), and she also refused to recommend vitamins to other children. So - it is what it is.

I am here today because my son has always been a bit pale, and ALWAYS has the dark circles under his eyes like I have always had too. He has had them since birth. I just always assumed they were hereditary? I will definitley try the vitamins you recommended and see what happens, as his skin is looking even more pale despite being outside this summer. Can you tell me EXACTLY what causes this condition, what's happening in our bodies that makes us this way? Also, should I been on the same protocol/dosage for mine as well?

Yes. You should also be supplementing with a similar strategy. Please see my post titled "Four Special Nutrients" (just type these words into Google and the post is the first hit).

No. I can not explain exactly what causes you and your son to have pale faces and dark circles. Many different failures in metabolism and disease conditions will lead to these generic symptoms. I can't explain much because I don't have any information about your son. What's extraordinary about this situation, is that I know that your son will respond positively to the recommended doses of vitamins because these vitamins are involved in almost every instance of poor health in a child (this is not true for adults).

Your pediatrician can do a great deal of blood testing. This is a good way to look for clues as to what may be the trouble. Your son may have some conditions that would respond to pharmaceuticals (e.g. allergies, sub-optimal lung function....). Please make sure your pediatrician fully understands your concerns, and please try any recommended medications.

On behalf of your son, thank you for trying the vitamins. Working together, vitamins and modern pharmaceuticals will work miracles and promise to bring most of the population into excellent health.

However, your body's need for vitamin C can go up if you have certain diseases or medical conditions. Also, other conditions like smoking make you more likely to be deficient. In any case, your daily requirement will never be more than say, 200 mg.

And you are wrong, there is harm in taking too much vitamin C, though it takes a lot, and the problems aren't life-threatening, mostly stomach and hormonal problems. The chronic toxic dose for adults is 2000 milligrams, and much less for younger people." at this website: "http://askville.amazon.com/maximum-amount-miligrams-Vitamin-body-accept-disposes-excess/AnswerViewer.do?requestId=2144850"

I was just wondering if he was right about taking too much Vitamin C? He says 2000mg/day should never be exceeded for an adult...is 3,000 mg per day plus the other stuff really OK for my 3.5 year old?

Please start by seeing my column titled "Four Special Nutrients". Just type these words into Google. This column discusses the basics of the side effects of the four most important vitamins. Please consider reading through my other columns. Each one is meant to have information that may help you decide on the wisdom of my recommendations for your child (children).

3.5 year old children are typically extraverted about their health. They will notice and complain about the discomforts vitamin C universally causes at sufficiently high dosage. You can start right in at the 3 g recommended and listen/observe. Alternatively, you can start at 1 g/day (1000 mg/day) for two weeks followed by 2 g/day for two weeks followed by 3 g/day. As long as you see no evidence of side effects, you have no reason to be concerned.

My clinical experience suggests that the very young and the very old have greater tolerance for vitamins than healthy adults. The fact is, however, that there aren't any controlled studies proving an age dependence of side effect thresholds for vitamin C. The author whose work you quoted had no scientific basis to claim that side effect thresholds are "much lower for younger people". The 2000 mg UL (upper safe dosage) comes from the US RDA committee. It is extremely conservative. This threshold was set because some small fraction of the population will experience chronic discomforts if they take 2000 mg vitamin C per day every day. So what? These people should stop taking vitamin C. If your child is one of these unusual people, he/she will complain about the harmless discomforts, you will stop the vitamin C, and you'll be right back where you started with no harm done beyond the experience of some temporary discomfort.

The claim that high doses of vitamin C (>200 mg) have no benefits is not factual. Vitamin C has proven antiviral properties. It does reduce the duration and severity of colds, and the benefit increases with dose out to maximum bearable doses (some people choose to suffer side effects in order to get incremental benefit). For some reason, the double-blind trials on vitamin C and colds remain controversial. The benefits of vitamin C for skin are less controversial. Please read my column on vitamin C and wound healing titled "Kill Cancer with Chemotherapy. Heal the wounds with vitamin C..." High potency vitamin C skin creams are becoming more and more popular.

FYI I have been taking at least 5000 mg/day of vitamin C for 14 years. Just weeks ago I was bitten by an insect and came down with a sudden/severe illness. I took 100 g vitamin C during a 24 hour period followed by almost a week at between 20 and 30 g/day. I missed one day of work. The point here is not to debate the effectiveness of the treatment. The point is to demonstrate the ability of at least one individual - me - to tolerate astonishingly high doses of vitamin C when ill.

Please consider providing your child with the doses of vitamin C and niacin that I recommend, and a multivitamin. Your child has much to gain and little to lose by giving my recommendations a try.

My son is 19 months old and still in diapers. When he was 15 months old he got burned pretty bad with hot water and I gave him lots of vitamin C along with herbs to help heal him quicker - it helped. I stopped giving him the vitamin c when I noticed irritated/red skin in his diaper area. Since then I occasionally give him 500mg of C. Many times it causes the red skin again. He also has bluish circles under his eyes. I would like to consider doing what you propose but I dont want him to be uncomfortable in the diaper zone. He also gets a multivitamin/day. Any thoughts?

I wanted to know if anyone has tried these vitamins and had success, or not? How long does it take until you see results? My 3.5yo has dark circles under her eyes on and off for a couple of months, and she tells me they hurt. My 2yo has the same diet, but no such signs. Most articles online say it could be allergies or asthma. Now sure what to do.

I'm sorry it took so long for me to reply. This comment string has been quiet for the last several weeks.

Yes. I have heard from many parents who have succeeded by following the recommendations in this blog. Please also see my most recent posts and get your children out in the sunshine without sun block to ensure plenty of vitamin D. Of course, don't let them burn either.

The vitamins work slowly. It takes months, or even years, to achieve the full effect. If it was easy to see the vitamins working, doses for children would have been optimized long ago.

With that said, I've seen children respond almost immediately. Lots of extra vitamin C and niacin can dry up noses oozing rivers of green in just hours and have the condition clear up (no more green) in days.

The dark circles will slowly fade away over the course of weeks (not hours).

I hope you decide to try the vitamins. Your daughter has much to gain and nothing to lose.

Im glad to see that somebody else has noticed the dark circle epidemic that nobody is addressing.In my opinion, I think that yes vitamins will help, however, I have lived, traveled, studied, and/or worked in over 17 countries (many undeveloped) and I have not see the dark circles anywhere like here in the US. I think that its quality issues and lazy ignorant parents that rather get their kids a TV and cell phone and throw their dinner in a microwave than spend a little extra time cooking and paying a little extra for a egg that is large, and with a nice orange healthy yolk rather a a tiny white egg with a sick off yellow looking yolk. Its common sense really. My 5 year old son does not have them and I barely give him vitamins. However, I breast fed him for 11 months, made homemade organic baby food, feed him whole organic foods that are not full of nitrites and other preservatives, as well as give him a healthy lifestyle that includes many outdoor activities. As with most societies around the world, I make his food home made and fresh without a microwave.When I go to stores I observe what people buy to eat. CRAP!!!!!!!!!! chips, sodas, microwave foods, canned foods, frozen foods, veggies covered in wax and smelling like plastic, eggs and meat from sick diseased animals, hot dogs, high fructose syrup with 1% concentrated juice from a pesticide covered fruit, BBQ (straight carbon..yum,yum!), GMO's, drink water with traces of uranium (look at you local water quality chemical reports) etc...When people from Europe travel here there are warned about are food.All the above, in my opinion, is much of the problem. Taking vitamins will help but your just waisting money when you can eat better (with a little higher cost) and just take vitamins when needed. Supplements are just that. They are to make up for the difference. But the problem is that the diffence is WAY to big. Our society is imbedded in instant fix. Well just take a pill and that will solve the problem instead of working on the problem by taking away the problem. And its really easy too. The rest of the world does it! Hec, even so called poverty stricken areas of the world with feces running down the sides of the street, (India and Mexico) for example have healthier kids!!!! they are always eating fresh fruits and veggies from their parents/grandparents gardens, organic free range meats, coconut juice, eggs from free range, and all cooked on a stove! Imagine that! Imagine not feeding your child something that you cannot even pronounce or have no idea what it is and need to take a chemistry class to know what your eating! You are what you eat!!!!!!!!

Also, people, sunlight is affecting our health in that Vitamin D is being blocked and causing rickets in children. Another reason to start looking at the bigger pictures instead of just popping a pill.

Im glad to see that somebody else has noticed the dark circle epidemic that nobody is addressing.In my opinion, I think that yes vitamins will help, however, I have lived, traveled, studied, and/or worked in over 17 countries (many undeveloped) and I have not see the dark circles anywhere like here in the US. I think that its quality issues and lazy ignorant parents that rather get their kids a TV and cell phone and throw their dinner in a microwave than spend a little extra time cooking and paying a little extra for a egg that is large, and with a nice orange healthy yolk rather a a tiny white egg with a sick off yellow looking yolk. Its common sense really. My 5 year old son does not have them and I barely give him vitamins. However, I breast fed him for 11 months, made homemade organic baby food, feed him whole organic foods that are not full of nitrites and other preservatives, as well as give him a healthy lifestyle that includes many outdoor activities. As with most societies around the world, I make his food home made and fresh without a microwave.When I go to stores I observe what people buy to eat. CRAP!!!!!!!!!! chips, sodas, microwave foods, canned foods, frozen foods, veggies covered in wax and smelling like plastic, eggs and meat from sick diseased animals, hot dogs, high fructose syrup with 1% concentrated juice from a pesticide covered fruit, BBQ (straight carbon..yum,yum!), GMO's, drink water with traces of uranium (look at you local water quality chemical reports) etc...When people from Europe travel here there are warned about are food.All the above, in my opinion, is much of the problem. Taking vitamins will help but your just waisting money when you can eat better (with a little higher cost) and just take vitamins when needed. Supplements are just that. They are to make up for the difference. But the problem is that the diffence is WAY to big. Our society is imbedded in instant fix. Well just take a pill and that will solve the problem instead of working on the problem by taking away the problem. And its really easy too. The rest of the world does it! Hec, even so called poverty stricken areas of the world with feces running down the sides of the street, (India and Mexico) for example have healthier kids!!!! they are always eating fresh fruits and veggies from their parents/grandparents gardens, organic free range meats, coconut juice, eggs from free range, and all cooked on a stove! Imagine that! Imagine not feeding your child something that you cannot even pronounce or have no idea what it is and need to take a chemistry class to know what your eating! You are what you eat!!!!!!!!

Also, people, sunlight is affecting our health in that Vitamin D is being blocked and causing rickets in children. Another reason to start looking at the bigger pictures instead of just popping a pill.

Its just like this society to just pop a pill to make it all better! The dark circle epidemic is a result of the bad quality of food and lack of breastfed infants and parents being lazy, ignorant, and selfish. Parents will spend alot money on material stuff(nice cars, cell phones, flat screened tv, tcs for the kids, video games for he kids, nice desert toys, boob jobs and monthly trips to the hairdresser, but they buy their kids crap food and cook it in a microwave. Hot Dogs, eating diseased animals chemical induced with chemicals, GMO's, wax and pesticide covered fruits and veggies, chips, high fructose syrup with 1% concentrated juice, coco puffs, etc...that is the problem. Lack of Vit D from the sun because the sunlight is being blocked because people need to drive their Hummer or F850 Ford down to Wallmart to get a frozen dinner for the kids instead of picking the fresh veggies from their garden and steaming them on their stove.Third world countries children do not look as unhealthy as American children. In the 17 countries that Ive been to, I observe kids eating fresh fruits, veggies, nuts, meats, and mostly from local or family farmers and their mothers breastfeed their children for more than 6 weeks. Kids need to be eating fresh roasted corn instead of cotton candy and then pop a Flynstone vitamin made from chemicals and horse hooves for dessert...oh and then go play video games until 10 at night!!

All of these children should be tested for Celiac Disease. Although there could be additional allergies, dark circles and pale skin is one of the top symptoms for Celiac. For those unaware of this disease, it prevents your body from absorbing ANY nutrients. It's worth the simple blood test.

Very interesting thread... I have 4 year old daughter who eats very well, veggies, organic, no refined sugar, etc and still suffers from dark circles under her eyes and somber mood a lot of the time. She has had the ige tests for food allergies and we have since obmitted eggs and dairy from her diet. I would like to try the niacin- my question is the longevity of the treatment. How long do you dose daily and when should you change to 1-2 times per week? And then how long do you continue the weekly regimen? When she is feeling better, I'd like to transfer to just a multivitamin and niacin rich foods. thank you.

Hello. I feel that although there is nothing wrong with vitamins, too much focus/concentration in this area can be not very healthy. First of all, I feel that parents need to take better care of children in different ways - not only by giving them vitamins. Parents need to dress their children appropriately when they take them outside, especially in cold weather. This will definitely reduce the frequency of colds. My heart breaks when I see infants or toddlers taken to the mall or grocery stores almost as if they were being prepared to go to bed - almost wearing nothing. Parents, on the other hand, are always dressed acoording to the weather. I feel that there is more damage int such careful attitude towards dressing children than to deficiency in their diets or not giving them vitamins. At first, make sure your baby or child is warm and then feed them or cure them. Secondly, when children get sick, usually they are given antibiotick and sent to school on the second day, if that. This is wrong approach as well, I believe. THey need rest at home (if possible) and more than one day to get bettter. I could write more and more on this topic. I am a counselor and I have more experience in treating mental health issues but I can tell everyone that taking care of children is more than just giving them correct food/nutrition and vitamins. What about nourishing their soul? If they do not get enough vitamins, there is very little chance that they will suffer physically, but if their souls will become cold and empty, then they are in real trouble. Then we have children's depression, suicide etc. A lot of vitamins do not make child feel necessarily happy or content with himself and the world around him/her. I truly believe that there is a crisis of parenting in this country which leads to children's psychological problems when they get older. THen, those kids who were used to get medication or vitamins in their childhood run to the psychiatrists with the request to prescribe them "a correct pill" that will cure them immediately....but it does not work that way....Person needs to look inside his soul (and not inside the pharmacy) to work our his problems...

Vitamins can be helpful for adults with pale faces and dark circles under their eyes. Generally, adults take longer to heal and are more prone to side effects. This is why I'm more passionate about children. With optimized nutritional support, children sometime quickly grow out of their problems.

In addition to taking vitamin C, niacin, and multivitamins, adults should make sure they get more vitamin D (supplements or sunshine), and thiamine (vitamin B1). Please read my entry on four special nutrients. Just type "four special nutrients" into Google and it pops up first. To help with side effects, I just wrote two entries - one on vitamin D side effects and one on niacin side effects.

Please try the vitamins in addition to your regular routine of medications and treatments. You've got much to gain and almost nothing to lose by trying the vitamins.

A four year old child is changing fast. 6 months of daily dosing is long enough for the high dose to do the job. Then switch to twice a week.

As hard as it is to believe, I'm a very cautious person, especially when it comes to children. If your child is doing well with the extra vitamins (vitamin C, niacin, and multivitamins), why would you discontinue? I continuously study the vitamin literature and continue to conclude that the doses of vitamins in food are below the optimum for growing children. I supplemented my children based on fear. I was afraid to give them more and afraid to give them less. Whenever the children felt unwell for more than a day, I'd stop the vitamins to make sure they weren't the cause.

Thanks again for your question - feel free to come back and ask more questions anytime.

Your point about Celiac's disease is a good one. All children with pale faces should be tested for allergies and unusual diseases and treated with the best possible medications. At the same time, these kids should get extra vitamins too. Vitamins and medication work together. With luck, over the course of a few years the vitamins will heal the underlying metabolic problem and the need for medication will disappear. If your child has Celiac's disease, allergies, or any other chronic health condition, she/he has much to gain and little to lose by giving the vitamins a try.

I just came across your blog from searching about the dark circles under eyes. I am very interested to read it, and appreciate your thoughts on this. I have 4 kids.....and my second daughter (7yrs old) seems to have dark under her eyes. And I wasn't sure what could be the prob. I kind of wondered if it was lack of sleep. I do like the idea of all the vitamins! Thanks for your thoughts!

Thank you sooo much Steve.You wouldnt belive how much this helps me!!Iam glad I found your column too.As a mother of a 6 year old boy I have been worrying about his pale skin and dark circles under the eyes.I give him flintstone vitamin each day,but do you think i should give him just a vitamin c tablet or both?please let me know..oh by the way thanks a bunch. v.pruett76@yahoo.com

I was not impressed with this article. My son has pale skin and dark circles under the eyes and looks "sickly" most of the time. He's actually one of the healthiest kids around and eats more fruits and vegetables faster than we can get them. He's never sick and misses very few days from school. He does not need vitamins because he eats great and is growing like a weed.

The pale skin and dark circles under the eyes are caused by severe nasal allergies such as dust, mold, changes in weather, etc...He's not getting enough air through his system so he looks tired and pale (lack of ciculating oxygen). The remedy is: Saline nasal spray THREE times a day, Nasonex, and Zyrtec every once in awhile. The pale skin and dark circles have vitually disapeared.

Wow, your amount recommendation of vitamin c is obsene. Moderation and varity is the key to good health. If you are not an expert, watch what you say. It could be dangerous.

Hello everyone. The search for my sons condition has led me here. I have an 8yr old who has sickly dark circles under his eyes. The good thing is that I am a stay at home mom who provides a very healthy organic and balanced meals for him. He loves healthy food and will rather go to have sushi than McDonalds. I also give him a wide range of vitamin and mineral suppliments every day. I have also taken him to the Pediatrician and to our Naturopath with a healthy response. So why does he still look sickly? I don't understand what those dark circles are trying to tell me. Any advice? Thanks. ~Aurora~

I'm a firm believer in feeding kids lots of "good for you" foods and also taking a daily supplement because when kids first start school they will pick up most every germ flying around! My child started kindergarten this year and was sick every other week and brought it home to share with my other two kids! So basically my kids were sick for 10 months. The point is, it's normal, the doctors have all told me that they will "grow out of it." No amount of vitamins will prevent you from catching viruses. As much as we'd all like, there is NO magic bullet! I also believe that there is such of a thing as Too Much Of A Good Thing! If this really high amount of vitamins has worked for you and your kids then that is awesome but for myself and my children, no thanks, I would rather suffer a cold for a week than have burning nausea and diarrhea! Also, the facial flushing he mentioned is a sign of vitamin c overdose! But best wishes to everyone with sick kids because I can definately relate. To the scientist, keep working on that Magic Bullet and keep us all posted!

I agree with you that it is possible to get too much of a good thing. The doses I recommend are conservative. The FDA'd upper recommended dosage for vitamin C is 2000 mg. I am recommending sticking with this dose - no more than 2000 mg at a time. Vitamin C is flushed rapidly from the body. It is completely safe to take it twice a day - once at breakfast and once after dinner or at bedtime. The only vitamin I'm recommending above the FDA's safe limits is niacin at 125 mg/day vs. 35 mg/day for the UL. Once a child is back in good health, I recommend two 125 mg time release niacin tablets per week - just below the FDA's UL.

Before you conclude that this regimen isn't a magic bullet, you should give it a try. My daughter would disagree with you. She and her friends are stopping colds in their tracks regularly.

Thanks for stopping by. If your child is eating alot of sushi and other fish, you need to be concerned about mercury. Have his hair tested.

Your son's condition is common and is often resolved using the simple supplement formula I recommend: vitamin C, vitamin D (from the sun), niacin, and thiamine. Please give it a try. Your son has much to gain and little to lose.

I have heard that large dosages of Vitamin C can cause diarrhea, should the dosage recommended of Vitamin C be given gradually until they reach the dosage you recommend? Also any suggestions for a toddler who won't take the tablets I give her? I have tried mixing it in food and she spits it out!

Thanks for this post. Quick question - do you know of supplements that are easily mixed with puree'd food - both for the C and the naicin? My son only eats puree's, and I'm interested in testing out this C and niacin possibility for helping with the paleness and dark circles under his eyes. It seems to come and go for Nathan. I'm guessing that maybe it comes when he's a bit under the weather but not enough for any doctor to take notice (ugh).

Time release niacin is sold as gelcaps filled with tiny spheres. It is easy to break these open and add them to soft foods. Not surprisingly, soft foods like ice cream and pudding work best. If your children will take it added to healthier soft foods, so much the better.

If your toddler doesn't like the taste of citrus-flavored chewable vitamin C tablets, I'm not sure what to say. The required dosage of several thousand milligrams is large and not easily masked.

Are there really toddlers out there who won't drink any kind of fruit juice? If they will, they almost always can learn to like the chewable orange-flavored tablets. If not, and they will drink some kind of fruit juice, vitamin C powder can be added to any fruit juice without changing the flavor very much.

If these suggestions don't work, please let me know and I'll work with you to figure something out. I like to cook and I'm sure that together we can come up with something.

Thanks for your question. I am a doctor. I got both my undergraduate and graduate education at Yale. I'm not an M.D. - I'm a Ph.D. in chemistry. I work as a research scientist at a major corporation. For my company, I spend alot of time studying how process equipment that produces petrochemicals breaks down with time. We literally call this aging. I know better than most physicians how small deficiencies maintained over time can accelerate aging processes.

More importantly, I am not as healthy as I would like. I have poor resistance to the common cold. Since my children entered daycare in 1993, I have been sick frequently. There is no pharmaceutical cure to the common cold so I had to look elsewhere. I believe if I had not looked elsewhere, I'd be dead just like Jim Henson. I'm not saying that to be dramatic. I'm saying it because few people realize that the common cold can literally be deadly to the tiny fraction of the population with poor immunity to the common cold. I knew that vitamins had known anti-viral properties so I started to use them while researching them. I have access to the best scientific literature search engines money can buy and have learned how to make the most of them.

Between reading (I have read the abstracts - these are the results summaries - from thousands of papers) and my clinical practice with vitamins based on my reading I have learned alot. In fact, I believe I have made a breakthrough and found a simple vitamin formula that will prevent cavities and anorexia (and therefore dramatically reduce cancer, heart disease, sleep disorders, mood disorders, and obesity). This formula is basically what I'm recommending for the children in this column. I recognize that this is too good to be true. Sometimes, however, too good to be true things are indeed true. I hope this is one of them.

Despite my excellent credentials, I'm hoping they aren't necessary for you to make the decision to give your children supplements. I'm recommending doses that are declared safe by the medical establishment. The Food and Nutrition Board changes doses with age one or more times before the age of 10 and my doses are probably higher than the lowest UL's. (the upper safe limits or UL's) If you're concerned, use lower doses. There is almost nothing to lose, and much to gain, by giving the vitamins a try.

Please don't hesitate to ask for further clarification. Please read any of my recent columns on preventing cavities.

I forgot an important credential. I've been researching vitamins for over 15 years. When I got started, my children were 1.5 and 3.5. Despite far less knowledge, I raised my kids on vitamins. They are now 16 and 18 and in excellent health. I am one of very few professionals to have supplemented their own children at the doses they recommend for others. In fact, I supplemented my children at higher doses. The lower doses I recommend now will reduce incidents of side effects to those expected by the Food and Nutrition Board. Again, what I recommend is safe and effective. I don't just recommend this to others, but acted on my own children - my most precious asset. I am also grateful that my children believe that the vitamins benefited them and plan to supplement their own children.

This is an interesting thread. I would like to point out that there are conditions that cause paleness and also prevent one from being able to absorb vitamins. Food allergies as mentioned many times, but also something like celiac disease. These should be ruled out or addressed before ading supplements to your child's diet. Lastly, MANY children are allergic to niacin - be careful!

Thanks for your comment. I agree with your observations. I would add that many cases of allergy and celiac disease are caused by deficiency of the vitamins I recommend -vitamin C, vitamin D, niacin, and thiamine. So - by this logic the vitamins cure the allergy/intestinal disease which cures the pale face and dark circles. This a more complex version of the simpler assertion that vitamins can cure pale faces and dark circles under the eyes.

No one is allergic to niacin. Niacin is an essential nutrient. Straight release niacin reliably causes a flushing response which is easily confused with an allergic response. So - Marian is wisely warning parents to watch out for the niaciin's flushing side effect. I found that my children didn't mind (don't mind) minor flushing once they know what causes it and that it will go away quickly. None the less, I strongly recommend time release niacin which reduces the frequency of flushing to near zero. Flushing and other niacin side effects are a strong function of dose. I've picked a dose that minimizes flushing.

Pale faces, dark circles under the eyes, allergies, and celiac's disease are serious problems that interfere with healthy growth and development. Flushing and other vitamin side effects, if anything, improve the growth and development process. The discomfort from typical side effects is no more than a minor nuisance. If your child has a pale face and/or dark circles under the eyes, there is much to gain and as close as possible to nothing to lose by giving the vitamins at the recommended doses a try.

You describe the physical appearence of my daughter. It has been driving me crazy that she looks pale w/ dark circles under her eyes for years.She has been tested for allergies,anemia,ect.& nothing has come up abnormal.I want to try your solution,but she is 8 years old. What would the dosage be?

Thanks for stopping by. Provide your 8 year old with exactly the doses in the column above. Here is the text again:

My recommended cure uses sunshine and three supplements that are inexpensive and easy to find. Sunshine is essential for good health. Vitamin D, one of only four vitamins that prevent named deficiency diseases, is manufactured by skin exposed to sunshine. Sunblock should only be used after your child has been exposed to 30 minutes of bright sunshine. The three supplements are 500 mg chewable vitamin C tablets, children’s chewable multivitamins, and 250 mg time-release niacin gel caps. If you have a child with a pale face and dark circles under the eyes, feed him or her 6 of the vitamin C tablets, one multivitamin, and 1/2 of one 250 mg time-release niacin gel cap. Follow up with 4 more vitamin C tablets before bedtime. Many children are happy to take one kid’s chewable multivitamin and lots of chewable vitamin C. These taste good. The half niacin gel cap is the only child-unfriendly ingredient. Fortunately, niacin has a mild flavor. The gel cap is filled with tiny spheres. Break the gel cap in two and add half of the spheres to ice cream or pudding, or some other soft, sweet, child-friendly food. The niacin may cause the toddler to flush – a temporary reddening of the skin. Although the flushing can be unpleasant, it is harmless. Further, flushing is unusual with time-release niacin gel caps at such a low dosage. Keep going with 125 mg/day of time release niacin and the vitamin C, 4 chewable tablets every morning and every bedtime until the dark circles are gone and are replaced by rosy cheeks. Sunshine, 4 chewable vitamin C tablets and a multivitamin should be obtained every day, even when healthy.

Don't hesitate to ask further questions. Good luck with your eight year old.

thanks for your post. i liked so much. i would like to ask you about the dose that i can give to my daughter who is 18 months now but she was born premature(25 weeker). i would be very happy if you would help me with that. because my baby's face is very pale and i want to make something about it.

The doses I recommend are independent of age and weight. The younger children are growing faster and tolerate higher doses without side effects. Here's the text from a more recent post on this topic:

I recommend three supplements that are inexpensive and easy to find. These are 500 mg chewable vitamin C tablets, children’s chewable multivitamins, and 250 mg time-release niacin gel caps or tablets. If you have a toddler with a pale face and dark circles under the eyes, feed him or her 6 of the vitamin C tablets, one multivitamin, and 1/2 of one 250 mg time-release niacin gel cap or tablet. Follow up with 4 more vitamin C tablets before bedtime. Many toddlers are happy to take one kid’s chewable multivitamin and lots of chewable vitamin C. These taste good. The half niacin gel cap or tablet is the only toddler-unfriendly ingredient. Fortunately, niacin has a mild flavor. Add half the contents of the gel cap (or a half tablet crushed into chunks) to ice cream or pudding, or some other soft, toddler-friendly food. The niacin may cause the toddler to flush – a temporary reddening of the skin. Although the flushing can be unpleasant, it is harmless. Further, flushing is unusual with time-release niacin gel caps at such a low dosage. Keep going with 125 mg/day of time release niacin and the vitamin C, 4 chewable tablets every morning and every bedtime until the dark circles are gone and are replaced by rosy cheeks. 4 chewable vitamin C tablets and a multivitamin should be taken every day, even when healthy. I recommend 1/2 of one 250 mg time-release niacin supplement once or twice per week for healthy kids. The final important vitamin is vitamin D. Your 18 month old daughter should get regular sunshine in minimal clothing during the months when it is comfortable to be outside. Sunscreen blocks vitamin D formation and should not be used until after the baby has been exposed to 10 to 30 minutes of sun.

I agree with the cynics on here. There are plenty of other plausible medical explanations for dark circles under the eyes. While the original poster's blog article has some merits, it is hardly a big bundle of undiscovered absolute truth. I agree with many others that the tone in which it is written is accusatory and judgmental and it detracts from the valid points within. I nearly laughed myself out of my desk chair when I saw someone managed to get a nod to breastfeeding in the stream of comments.

Your child with dark circles under the eyes may be something serious or something minor. Allergies can be outgrown, more rest can be added, diet changes can be tried before jumping to any conclusions or taking any one person's advice, whether they be an M.D. or a Ph.D. or an ANYTHING.D.

The best thing you can do as parent is to use your common sense, and seek out the advice of multiple "gurus" on the subject, but not to put all your eggs in one basket.

We are too quick to seek medical help in general. While cosmetically the dark circles under your child's eyes are frustrating, they are not necessarily indicative of some serious underlying problem, or allergy, or immunodeficiency.

My son is fair and has dark circles. He like most toddlers doesn't eat the greatest. He does take a multivitamin, which is healthy. But wasting money on extra supplementation is silly. The basic chemistry is there, but the body does a poor job absorbing these supplements.

Your best bet is to get these extra vitamins in your children in ways they can absorb. This can be difficult depending on what your child is willing to eat.

Mandarin oranges and citrus fruits in general are a great way to get extra C. Fish and Potatoes are great sources of niacin. Google around for more. There is probably something your kid will eat that can help improve the amount of ABSORBABLE nutrients they get. When someone takes vitamins, whatever isn't absorbed gets filtered by the kidneys. The French actually make fun of Americans for taking so many supplements. We are known as a country for having "the most expensive urine."

Allergies should be checked, but I hesitate to put small children on long term allergy medication while they are still developing. If it is not absolutely necessary, there is a chance your child will just outgrow the allergy on their own.

I definitely agree with the original poster that children do not get outside enough. Sunlight is both physically and mentally healthy for adults and children and something modern society doesn't bask in for a duration that helps us process out vitamin D correctly.

To those of you reading this article, it is good you are online seeking info to assess the state of your child. Keep your grains of salt handy, though, and consult some real life practitioners of whatever variety of medicine floats your boat. Just talk to more than one. Second opinions are great in any venue.

If your child's dark circles don't go away despite your efforts, remember that it may just be the way they are going to look for now, and they might be more amenable to dietary and lifestyle changes to correct them when they are old enough to be concerned about their appearance themselves.

I apologize for your accurate observation that my original post indeed sounds accusatory and judgemental.

Well - Rachel - here we are at an impasse. You admit that your own son has dark circles and you are sufficiently unconcerned that you refuse to try a safe, convenient, and inexpensive potential remedy. Why is that? I don't want your thoughts about the vitamin doses I recommend. I want you to try them. If they don't help, write me and tell me they didn't work. I'll respect that. When I hear from enough parents that the extra vitamins didn't help, I know that I'm wrong and they don't help and I'll be the first to admit it.

Instead of trying my advice, you write the following:

"But wasting money on extra supplementation is silly. The basic chemistry is there, but the body does a poor job absorbing these supplements."

Extra supplementation is not a waste of money because it costs almost nothing - just a few pennies a day. Cost simply is not an issue. Your comment about absorption is also plain wrong. Vitamin D - freely obtained from the sun - is strongly retained. In fact it is troublesome to remove it from the body and as a result side effects from vitamin D overdoses can take weeks to subside. Vitamin C and niacin are readily absorbed. Although they are also readily excreted, when taken in the doses I recommend, the steady state concentration of vitamin C and niacin in the body is well above what is achieved with and ordinary diet.

What I have to say is either the truth or it isn't. The merits of my assertions will be tested with data, not opinions. Parents will be persuaded to try the combination of vitamins I recommend and they will be happy with the results or they won't.

I'm not recommending one basket - I'm recommending a combination of four baskets. These are sunshine (for the vitamin D), vitamin C, niacin, and a multivitamin. There is already a consensus that parents must see to it that their children get regular doses of vitamins. Without vitamins, children develop deficiency diseases. I'm saying that parents must do more than just pay attention to the food their children eat. They must also train them to get plenty of sunshine and provide them with vitamin C, niacin, and multivitamin supplements.

As a first-time parent, I appreciate all the advice I can get, especially when my observations of my kid are taken lightly by doctors and pharmacists. I have a 15 month old daughter who has had circles under her eyes for about four months now. I have ruled out allergies, sinus issues, sleep deficency, as well as poor dieting (I steam cook all her meals and pay extra as one person wrote for her fresh eggs with hard shells - though those are getting harder to find, no pun intended). And yes, I agree that kids should play outside more, spend more quality time with parents, etc.... So, my glowing, beautiful healthy daughter started showing dark circles and I kept hearing it was not serious and not to worry, to keep observing. This cannot be more frustrating. What, exactly, should I keep looking for? I am sick of the approach used to treat illnesses instead of caring for health. We have to wait until our health is so bad that it can then be treated. More attention needs to be placed on prevention and actually caring for our health, instead of waiting for it to dwindle. Of course you need second opinions and to inform yourself as much as possible, but I wanted to thank Steve for at least providing an alternative. We can all research to assess if indeed these vitamins are safe at these dosages. I do not want to wait around for my daughter's circles to get worse and for her body to find another way to tell me there is something wrong. As a side note to the needed exposure to vitamin D: I have read that for the winter months, giving a young child cod liver oil is a great way for the body to absorb it, as not only is the oil very rich in Vitamin D, but also in Vitamin A, which helps the body naturally absorb Vitamin D. My source: http://www.westonaprice.org/Cod-Liver-Oil-Setting-the-Record-Straight.html-Ana

In case it wasn't already evident from my previous comment, I've been in need of supporting words like yours.

Thanks also for directly addressing the issue of safety. Vitamin C and niacin can cause discomfort - even extreme discomfort, but they are not known to do any real harm no matter how badly abused. When niacin is sufficiently abused it causes the most horrible nausea and vomiting imaginable putting an end to any reasonable possibility of further abuse. Vitamin C, when abused, causes terrible abdominal cramping and worse again putting an end to any reasonable possibility of further abuse. Even from abuse, complete recovery is typically achieved within two days at most.

Vitamin D is a different story. I don't recommend supplements - not even cod liver oil - because the sun is 100% safe and the supplements are not. Generations of kids have been brought up on cod liver oil without this supplement gaining much of a reputation for toxicity. So, I think it's sensible. I use vitamin D supplements myself and I manage the side effects.

I wrote blog columns dedicated specifically to vitamin D and niacin side effects. I highly recommend the vitamin D side effects column.

The vitamins I recommend can cause a bewildering variety of side effects that can be difficult to recognize. If you have any concerns that vitamin supplements are causing your daughter discomfort, please come back to the blog and ask questions. I'm as obsessive about vitamin side effects as I am about vitamin benefits.

I just took my 9 year old son to the doc yesterday for headaches and he always says he's tired. I got scared.I have been trying to do a better diet and give all my children vitamins. He just always seems to be sick and the docs cant tell me anything.He has the pale skin and circles. I googled it. He's the only one out if my three kids. IDK!

It is remarkable that doctors are not trained about the safety and effectiveness of vitamins and therefore are not able to help the many struggling children in the world. You son is not alone by any means. I'm sorry that the best society can do today is fringe bloggers on the internet.

The good news is that I'm as mainstream as it gets. Exeter Academy, then Yale University for both a B.S. and Ph.D. in Chemistry. I work in corporate research for a major company and have been working in the lab doing experiments my entire career. I know how to find what works and what doesn't using science.

I hope you are taking action and trying sunshine, vitamin C, thiamine, and niacin at the recommended doses. A multivitamin will not get the job done. If you can't get your child out into the sunshine enough with minimal clothing, come on back and we'll discuss how to use vitamin D supplements as safely as possible.

Hi Steve.Thank you for the informaion and confidence you shared on this blog you posted a few years ago. I just came accross it now in my seach for answers on my 6 years olds pale face, dark eye, and linked behavior trouble. I am certainly intrigued by your insight because all of her syptoms in this area did get worse a about 6 or 7 months ago which would be around the same time I took her off of her regualr Vitamin C supliments. My reason for taking her off was that even one chewable of 500mg would give her terrible diarreha. After having her off for a few months I tried giving it to her again just because I belive there are a lot of bennefits to it. However the Diarreha retured with it. So my question for you is: Do you have any suggestions or knowldeget that might help me impliment the regime you suggest without causing her intestinal upset? Looking forward to your inputBrandee

I want to stress that the vitamins I recommend work together. Results are typically achieved slowly over the course of months. Immediate, dramatic responses happen but are rare and mistrusted - even by scientists.

Second, I want to stress that intestinal problems in kids are serious. The intestinal tract plays an important role in regulating vitamin intakes and also provides a first line of defense against overdose (the intestines frequently get sick first). So - you need to proceed both with caution and with urgency.

One of the four special vitamins is not meant to be eaten. This is vitamin D. It is a no-brainer to get your daughter into the noontime sun in a bikini bathing suit. The objective is to achieve a slight, even tan over much of her body. Just 10 minutes a day - 5 minutes on each side - is enough in the noon time sun for most light-skinned children. I say this to point out that even children can focus for 10 minutes without having their whole day ruined - this is not impractical. If you are dark skinned, the bad news is that you have to stay out longer. The good news is that you don't have to worry so much about sunburn. I can't overemphasize the importance of each of these four vitamins. Vitamin D is the only one that can be delivered in optimal doses with no risk. Just get in the sun. There are no side effect risks from vitamin D from the sun.

Vitamin C is sold in a form well tolerated by the intestines. It is called Ester-C. See if your daughter can take 2000 mg/day of vitamin C as Ester-C. I noticed recently that Costco has started selling this form of the vitamin - a sign that your daughter is in good company. When your daughter is back in robust health, she may regain a normal bowel tolerance for vitamin C. If she does, I recommend switching back to regular vitamin C tablets just because I'm a safety fanatic, and I also like the feedback from vitamin C. When I'm not feeling well I usually take extra vitamin C. My intestines quietly and politely tell me exactly how much is just right. When I'm sick this amount is often alot more. When I'm attacked by a serious cold once every couple of years I'll often take as much as 20,000 mg vitamin C in a day instead of my normal 2000 to 4000.

Please try the time release niacin as recommend (half of a 250 mg time release niacin every day, or a whole 250 mg time release niacin 2 or 3 times per week).

I also wanted you to know that one of the really awesome things about these blog posts is that they are ever-green. As I learn and get feedback from colleagues and readers, I adjust my advice to make sure it stays the best it can be.

Nothing will change the fact that vitamins above the RDA are needed for optimal growth and development of children. The details of how to go about this safely and with minimal fuss on the part of the children change with experience. I'm rewriting parts of this column at least once per year - so keep it bookmarked.

This advice is 100 percent true. I have a three-year-old son. He has had sensory issues since birth and he has also had very pale skin and dark circles under his eyes since he was a baby. He got sick constantly and had continual problems at preschool because of his aggression towards other kids and teachers. He went through a very tough time behaviorally when we were almost asked by his preschool to pull him out because of his out-of-control behavior. At my wits' end, I finally took him to my mother's Doctor of Oriental Medicine, who is also a nutritionist. She immediately put him on - guess what - a C supplement, a multi-B supplement, DHA, Vitamin D, and a good multivitamin. A month later, he is like a different child. He has no trouble listening, he does not need to constantly stimulate himself with sensory input, he is sweet and kind to his friends and teachers at school. I strongly recommend people with "difficult" children who are looking for help. It has made such a difference with my son, I can't even say. Thanks so much for posting this information online.

If I in any way influenced the Oriental physician or firmed the resolve I know it required to go against the grain and actually feed your vulnerable and precious child extra vitamins - then all my efforts have already paid off. The health of even one child is priceless.

With that said, I'm going to ask a huge favor. The teachers at your son's preschool have seen for themselves a remarkable transformation caused by vitamin supplements. I believe they have a responsibility for the many other children they look after with similar problems. Please consider trying to communicate to the teachers that they should be reading this blog and working to get vitamin supplements to all the children in the school who might benefit. They also need to be thinking about vitamin D. It is the school's responsibility to make sure that all the kids are getting plenty of sunshine and that dark-skinned kids get more than fair-skinned kids.

my 12 year old daughter has really bad dark circles under her eyes. she has had them all her life but has been recently complaining about them. she is embarassed about them. so should she follow these steps? or is it different for older children? please help x

I have a 8 month old boy & the skin around his eyes has started turning reddish.He has gud diet & also sleeps quite well. But m really worried about his skin turing pale around his eyes.

Please help someone. What should i do? I don't want him to live the rest of his life with dark circles.This is the beginning of his life. I'm really worried about him.Should i give him vitamins as suggessted? Will it b safe to give vitamins to such a small child?

There is much to gain and almost nothing to lose by following my advice. The doses I recommend are safe. The multivitamin is standard. Sun exposure without burning is generally recognized as safe. Vitamin C is safe at much higher doses. Niacin is also safe at much higher doses. The occasional child will have low tolerance for niacin and will experience uncomfortable side effects. Read my blog item on niacin side effects. If this occurs, the discomfort disappears within a day once the niacin supplement is stopped. There is no further harm besides the temporary discomfort.

My experience has shown that vitamin tolerance decreases with age. That's why I recommend constant doses throughout growth and development. So yes - the 8 month old and the 12 year old should both take the same doses.

Please also read my blog on vitamins and wound healing. Extra vitamin C and niacin for a few days following respiratory infections and injuries can help speed wound healing.

There is much to gain and almost nothing to lose by following my advice. The doses I recommend are safe. The multivitamin is standard. Sun exposure without burning is generally recognized as safe. Vitamin C is safe at much higher doses. Niacin is also safe at much higher doses. The occasional child will have low tolerance for niacin and will experience uncomfortable side effects. Read my blog item on niacin side effects. If this occurs, the discomfort disappears within a day once the niacin supplement is stopped. There is no further harm besides the temporary discomfort.

My experience has shown that vitamin tolerance decreases with age. That's why I recommend constant doses throughout growth and development. So yes - the 8 month old and the 12 year old should both take the same doses.

Please also read my blog on vitamins and wound healing. Extra vitamin C and niacin for a few days following respiratory infections and injuries can help speed wound healing.

There is much to gain and almost nothing to lose by following my advice. The doses I recommend are safe. The multivitamin is standard. Sun exposure without burning is generally recognized as safe. Vitamin C is safe at much higher doses. Niacin is also safe at much higher doses. The occasional child will have low tolerance for niacin and will experience uncomfortable side effects. Read my blog item on niacin side effects. If this occurs, the discomfort disappears within a day once the niacin supplement is stopped. There is no further harm besides the temporary discomfort.

My experience has shown that vitamin tolerance decreases with age. That's why I recommend constant doses throughout growth and development. So yes - the 8 month old and the 12 year old should both take the same doses.

Please also read my blog on vitamins and wound healing. Extra vitamin C and niacin for a few days following respiratory infections and injuries can help speed wound healing.

There is much to gain and almost nothing to lose by following my advice. The doses I recommend are safe. The multivitamin is standard. Sun exposure without burning is generally recognized as safe. Vitamin C is safe at much higher doses. Niacin is also safe at much higher doses. The occasional child will have low tolerance for niacin and will experience uncomfortable side effects. Read my blog item on niacin side effects. If this occurs, the discomfort disappears within a day once the niacin supplement is stopped. There is no further harm besides the temporary discomfort.

My experience has shown that vitamin tolerance decreases with age. That's why I recommend constant doses throughout growth and development. So yes - the 8 month old and the 12 year old should both take the same doses.

Please also read my blog on vitamins and wound healing. Extra vitamin C and niacin for a few days following respiratory infections and injuries can help speed wound healing.

Thank you for this very interesting post. I hope I am not too late to obtain a response from you. My nearly four year old daughter is a happy, active, engaging child who has been rarely sick. When she has been sick, it's been with a mild virus during the winter months. She was breastfed until 3.5 years, and eats a very healthful diet (though a little bit light on fruit and milk, which she avoids). She receives 100 mg of vitamin C per day, sunshine, multivitamin, probiotics, and fish oil daily. However, she is quite pale and has shiners. Her naturopath has suggested food allergies as the culprit since test results reveal fine iron levels. I suspected she needed a constitutional homeopathic remedy. Does her specific case sound like someone who would benefit from an increase in vitamin C and the addition of niacin, even though she doesn't fit the child profile mentioned in your post? Her father takes niacin at the recommendation of his holistic MD and is also very pale. I would love to hear your thoughts!

I recently started this regimen with my 2.5 year old son. About a month ago I noticed the dark circles. Never there before so they really freaked me out. I took him to the doc and there was LOTS of bloodwork. All of it came back normal so I talked to my doc about trying this option. He supported this plan so I started him on it 2 days ago. Hoping to see some positive changes soon! I'll come back and post the results! Thanks for all this info.

Thanks for your comment and the excellent news. I'm so relieved that your pediatrician was open to these doses of vitamins.

Your comment had me rereading my words. Hmm. I was somewhat frustrated when I wrote. I'm going to do some editing.

Please don't hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns. Please also make sure to return as promised with a report.

Also - you may also be interested in considering vitamins to improve the health of adults in the family. Google is the best way to find items of interest. If you were interested in vitamins and osteoporosis, for example, type "cforyourself osteoporosis" into google and the items in this blog on that topic will pop right up.

My two year old has had dark circles under his eyes and very pale face for a long time. It worried me, I asked my pediatrician to take necessary blood test and check for low hemoglobin, the test came back normal. What doses of the vitamins that you have mentioned would you recommend for a two year old? Thanks

I know this is hard to believe, but my experiences have taught me that the smallest kids need the large doses as a fraction of body weight. The good news is that my experience suggests that there is no need to change vitamin doses with age. As soon as you're ready to wean your baby, it's OK to switch to the recommended doses in this column. There's no harm starting with half the doses I recommend and increasing later (or not if your happy with the results). FYI, I started supplementing my kids when they were 22 and 46 months old and used doses more than double what I recommend with only minimal problems with side effects.

I have read this column and have taken notes as I read it. YEs, my 9 year old son sometimes has dark circles under his eyes and his face is almost always pale. Friends often think he is ill. Recently, he has passed out twice (once at school doing math at his desk and another after running around with friends.) Doc's say he is a bit low on iron (they say this is common ???). He also plays hockey and will somtimes say he feels weak. Actually you can tell as he seems lethargic on the ice. Anyway, the pale face and dark cirlces thing made me keep reading but perhaps extra vitamins will help give him a boost. Just wish I had answers to ease my worries.

The best solution to this problem is a solarium. At noon the sun is surprisingly strong - even at the winter solstice. Unfortunately, it is highly unlikely that you have access to a solarium. Tanning salons are another alternative. State of the art salons have adjustable equipment and are able to provide you with extra UVB so that you can maximize vitamin D production and minimize tanning. Finally, you can purchase light bulbs designed to stimulate UVB production in animals. Actually, I have one more idea. You could send your daughter south during Christmas break to visit friends or relatives and get her to soak up the sun right in the middle of the vitamin D "winter".

I hope you decide to give the vitamins a try. One point of the vitamin treatment I recommend is to give a clear answer to a sensible question. "Are any of the health problems my son is experiencing caused by vitamin deficiency?" If your son's health improves upon following my advice, the answer is probably yes.

I hope you see your son in robustly good health soon - with or without extra vitamins.

Thanks for your responses to everyone and for your knowledgable input.I mentioned before that my 9 year old son has been fainting and I am soooo scared because I can't seem to get answers as to why. Yes, he is pale but his dark circles are not so bad - in fact it looks a bit more like faint colored reddish circles. He is lethargic and sometimes tells me he feels weak when playing hockey. Also, he has been getting headaches now and has never really had them before. The headaches may not actually be a big deal as many kids get them. I don't think they are that often anyway. He has tested as low on iron and has a normal heart rate but an irregular rythme. Now, one DR. says low iron and another says that it is not really that low - arghhh). It was suggested eating more greens. Ha... I can get some in him but not alot. I also admit that we should be eating more red meat in our house and I am starting that too! Anyway, I have started him on vitamins, as well as his twin sister, who seems to be fine. This is a combination of what you recommended and our pharmacist.

My son;2- 500mg Vit C in morning & 2 at night

1 drop D-Mulsion 1000 -Vit D (hard to get from sun here as it has been -25 here since approx. November)

1 Omega -3 kids softgels (EPA 100 - DHA 50 (whatever that means??)

10 ml morning and 10ml night - Enfamil FER-IN-SOL

I was told not to give a multivitamin at this time but introduce later.___________________________________My 9 year old daughter gets the same doses of Vit. C, Vit. D, Omega 2 & Multivitamin. She does not get the fer-in-sol.___________________________________They said nothing about Niacin. I did ask but was told flat out no. So I figure I would pick some up from somewhere else. What do you think about the regime for both? I make sure that my son gets tons of oranges, strawberries, blueberries, etc to make his stools soft in hope to avoid constipation from the iron.

Sorry this is so long but not only confused but like every mom and dad, want what is best and what works.Thanks,

I think it's fantastic that you're giving your kids extra vitamins and paying attention to their health. When your kids are in excellent health, you don't need to worry about supplements.

So - its totally fine to see how the kids do on the vitamin C, vitamin D, and omega 3 (and iron for one of them), before adding in the multivitamin. I'm not surprised about the reaction to the niacin. Niacin side effects amongst adults are common and make adults angry and I don't blame them. The side effects can be very unpleasant. In my experience, children are much more tolerant of niacin and get much less upset about the side effects when and if they occur.

Do you live in the USA? If so - you shouldn't have any trouble finding niacin over the counter. When you're ready, I continue to recommend that you give it a try.

Please come on back with as many comments and questions as you like. I'm happy to help, and as you can see far from overwhelmed with comments.

Steve, Ihave 8 year old daughter with pale complexion n dark circles...i give her all home made food and fresh orange n carrot juice almost daily. When i consulted her pediatrition for the reason for dark circles she could not give any solution. Now my concern is after healthy diet can i still introduce vitamins without the danger of overdosage of vitamins?

Yes. My recommendations are safe, and you can proceed with confidence.

Side effects from children's multivitamins are almost unknown. Side effects from vitamin C are obvious - soft stools, gas, cramps. Your daughter is highly unlikely to experience these side effects from the vitamin C dose I recommend - but if she does - just stop. She will recover within a day. Kids are pretty good about complaining early about these kinds of symptoms. So - your daughter's complaint level is logically the most harm you can do. Your daughter could also experience side effects from the niacin. Again - complete recovery typically occurs in a day or less.

This process isn't so different from food. Too much sugar - certain fruits and vegetables - seafood, etc. are not always well tolerated by children. So - you learn and adjust.

Your daughter has much to gain and little to lose by giving the vitamins and sunshine a try.

You really Should be aware that there are SEVERAl genetic conditions that can cause these features... My son has one such condition, it is not something that can be fixed.. I think its sad that you just assume these kids are unhealthy, not getting vitamins or proper sun... ASSUME MUCH?????

Thanks for your accurate comment about genetics. Each child is programmed to grow and develop a bit differently. The programming, however, is devilishly complex - and not well understood. A child's growing body can respond to the environment and take a different path to adulthood. If your son had to work outdoors with minimal clothing in the tropics, his body would respond to the signal and change. If your son ate only fat and protein his body would grow a bit differently than if he ate a vegan diet.

I don't assume every child with a pale face and dark circles is ill. I recommend that parents try totally safe doses of vitamins to ensure that basic nutrition is not limiting the potential futures of their children.

I hadn't really considered the idea that my advice might cause others to blame the parents of healthy kids genetically predisposed to pale faces and dark circles for something that isn't a problem. I'm really sorry about that.

I'm not a physician, and never said I was. I'm passionate that I am qualified to speak about the safety of the vitamins I recommend. My best credential is my post on vitamin D side effects, which has received hundreds of comments from people who suffered badly from poor advice from technically qualified professionals.

I worry constantly about safety. If you know of anyone who has been experienced unexpected discomfort from following my advice, I want to know. I don't care what readers think about my credentials or my claims or my theories. I just want readers with sick kids to give the vitamins a try and to let the data speak for itself. If the vitamins don't work - for goodness sake stop. If they do work, shame on those with better credential than mine for closing the minds of parents to such a safe, low cost, and readily available cure.

I think you should be careful with your advice. You are not qualified in anything medical, and you have never seen these children. In kids that dont have much wrong Im sure a few extra vitamins may not be a bad thing, but giving vast amounts of anything EVEN VITAMINS can be harmful. Id advise parents to take their child to a doctor, even they feel there is still something wrong persist, try another doctor, but for goodness sake dont take advice from someone who hasnt a clue whats wrong with your child.Ally

I was thinking of trying the Niacin on my 2 year old, but since capsules are meant to protect the medication from premature breakdown of enzymes in your mouth, and also acids from the stomach until it can be properly absorbed in the correct amount in your small intestine, why a time release capsule for a child if it isn't given in pill form?

Thanks for your thoughtful comment. The best product I ever found for kids for niacin was a gel-cap filled with little spheres of niacin designed to release slowly over time. This product was great because I could just pour some of the little spheres into ice cream or pudding. With care, almost any dose between 10 and 100 mg can be reliably provided.

I havent' seen this product around in a while. More common are 500 mg time-release pills. These will also work fine. It's just harder to cut off a chunk the size you want than it is to pour the spheres from the gelcaps.

I basically agree with you. For goodness sake, every parent needs to take their sick children to the pediatrician. I prefer parents to talk to their pediatricians before taking my advice. In rare circumstances, vitamins might, for instance, reduce the effectiveness of a drug. If this were the case, I'd get my child onto a similar drug that was equally effective with and without vitamins. I want parents of kids on prescription drugs to get permission from pediatricians to try my advice. I just want assurance from the pediatrician that the vitamin doses (and sunshine) that I recommend are safe. I want all evidence backing up any claims that what I'm recommending is not safe. Because it is safe.

Steve,I have just come across your blog due to researching pale skin and dark eyes on the interenet. I am going to try this for my 7 year old daughter. However, along with her dark circles and pale skin her fingernails are not smooth. They have long ridges that run up and down them. Is there any connection? Or could this mean there is something more significant going on with her. She is a very picky eater. I can rarely get her to eat veggies without gagging and sometimes vomitting them back up. She will only eat a few different fruits so I can see her being vitamin defeceint.As I have been researching this I have come across other articles that talk about congestion and allergies being the cause. I am so tired of every issue being blammed on allergies. The last few times I have taken my daughter to the doctors for ear infections (she gets them often) the Dr. says she has allergies. I was told the same thing about my son whom is now 11 years old. Since the time he was 2 he could not breath through his nose and I was sent to many different Dr. and was always told he had allergies. Finally he was tested and for 3 years he went for allergy shots, with no relief. After putting him through all of that I found out that he had enlarged adenoids. It was discovered by his orthodontist. After having his adenoids removed he has not been back to the Dr. at all. I am still very angry about this situation. I don't understand why Drs. are so quick to blame everything on allergies!!!

I work for the HeadStart program and we have at least 5 or 6 preschoolers every year who are coming in to our program with doctor notes saying the are deathly allergic to certain foods. It was not like that when I was growing up so I didn't understand why this was happening. But I had a conference for work and we had an allergist come speek to us. He explained that new studies are finding kids with major allergies are defiecient in vitamin D. The reason for this is lack of sun. When I was growing up we did not slather on tons of sun screen before we even walked out the door in the morning. Now, parents won't send their children to school without it because they may get burned during recess time. Give me a break!! Thank you for this article. I will be trying the vitamins. The sun thing I already have covered. We all get pleanty of non sunscreen slathered rays.

Please let me know what doses you pick for your kids and how they are doing. Don't hesitate to ask questions.

If you read my recent posts, you'll see I've been writing about antibiotics. If the vitamins don't work by themselves, adding an antibiotic is another low risk, high reward action that can be considered. If the antibiotic helps, it should be obvious within a few days. If it's not helping, then, of course, discontinue the antibiotic.

Thanks again for your comment. I'll keep your children in my thoughts.

My son is 4 years old and has always been pale with the dark circles under his eyes. I never thought anything of it because doctors always said how healthy he is. This last check up our new doctor seemed a little worried about it and said we should put him on a gluten free diet. I'm going to try that but will also be doing the supplements you suggested. I'm hoping it helps. Thanks for posting this blog..it may help my little boy=)

As a question. Where did you study? Is this an opinion or do you have a background or degree in medicines? Just a question. My daughter gets more than enough vitamins and she still get circles and is pale from time to time. I am just curious where you found all your information, if you're just speaking from experience or from education. I have done my homework as well as having an education in nuitrition and medicine. I'm guessing you've calculated the right amounts as to not damage your child's liver or kidneys. As too many vitamins and supplements can cause problems for both, I would be concerned about any parent who exceeds what a body should handle. Not only that, but as your body becomes dependent on those supplements giving higher levels, it has a harder time adjusting if you stop. Much as an addict going through withdrawals. I admit toddlers are building up their immune systems, however, after reading your post, you are tricking the body and not allowing it to develop naturally. Especially at a young age, children are not developed enough to handle the extra strain adding additional supplements of any kind. I would caution any parent who does this. Healthy eating to achieve extra vitamins would be a much better approach. Instead of such a high concentrated amount all at once which is hard on the digestive system, if you want your child to have more Vit C give them a citrus fruit. Studies have shown that supplements while helpful are not meant to replace. Forcing a child's system to digest pills can be harmful. The use of extra Niacin is also alarming because it may cause a Nuacin dificiency a condition known a Pellagra.Your body is meant to receive vitamins naturally from food intake. I agree with Sunlight and Vit D. Every child should be enjoying the sunlight. One other word of caution. Supplement formulas and ingredients are not standardized and quality is not well regulated by any government agency. Just a word of caution to anyone thinking of supplements. A balanced diet of healthy goody can provide the same effects. Need niacin? Eat pumpkin seeds. Need Vit C eat an orange. Need Vit D drink orange juice and milk.I am 200% behing healthy children. I am not behind something that is manufactured. Buy a juicer and organic fruit. My daughter drinks a healthy strawberry orange banana apple smoothie in the mornings and lives them.

Thanks for a great post. My 20 month old has developed dark circles under his eyes, but he takes his supplements daily. I think it might also be helpful to mention another cause of dark circles, though not a common one (i hope!) My son recently had an accident where a gate fell on him causing extensive sinus damage and a broken septum. Before anyone gets on their high horse, it was an accident at church where a security gate had not been attached to its hinges and nobody knew. The CT scan showed only soft tissue damage and now he still has nasal congestion causing the dark circles. I feel really bad that people think he is unhealthy, but he is such an active healthy boy. He is fair and pale, but then I am VERY pale genetically, and this makes the circles seem more distinct. But hopefully with time they will go away.

I just wanted to leave a quick response. A bit ago someone posted their fit about Steve suggesting vitamins or "pills". They suggested that there was no need for vitamins just feed your kids MORE vitamin rich foods. WELL there is no way even if you have the healthiest diet that you will get all the vitamins and minerals you need just from food. Your kid could not eat that much any way. Thats all ;-)

Not certain but my husband read that children 6 &7 should only have 45mg of vitamin C a day!! Our son got bad stomach cramps and diarrhea for weeks after I was unknowingly overdosing him on C - giving him 3x500mgs chewables with kindervital liquid 25mgs/10ml dose and another supplement Dr Dunner sambu guard for respiratory problems which has 25mg / 5ml - this supplement I'm stopping as it's unnecessary with the kindervital having enough of all they need?...The 1500mgs was way too much!! And there was plenty C in the others combined to help our boys besides the fruits and veggies they consume daily. Just a thought... A look into the rda for kids and what food they're eating to help with it all. Cheers!

I was fortunate to have had an excellent education. I graduated high school from Phillips Exeter Academy in NH. That's where I selected Chemistry as my science major. I got my B.S. and Ph.D degrees in Chemistry at Yale University. I almost majored in Biochemistry, and completed all the pre-requisites for the major and spent a summer in one of the Biochemistry labs. I've been working in industry since getting my Ph.D.

I've been studying vitamins since the early 1990's. My attention was drawn to the vitamin literature by the death of Linus Pauling. The first book I studied in great detail was his "How to Live Longer and Feel Better." I have access to science databases at work and used these to search and read the vitamin science literature. For recent literature, I now depend mostly on public internet search.

In 2002, I pulled out my college biochemistry textbook and studied it with the objective of relating what I'd learned about vitamins to the basics of human biochemistry. In 2007 I bought Benton's, "The Biochemistry of the Vitamins" which I read carefully and continue to re-read. To the best of my knowledge, it is the only biochemistry textbook dedicated to the vitamins. I don't believe any healthcare provider is required to study it. I find this disappointing.

Perhaps my most important education is my experience. I've taken all the vitamins I write about, and I brought my kids up on vitamins. My kids are now full grown and both of them continue to use vitamins and are well educated about the safety and effectiveness of vitamins.

I'm obsessive about vitamin safety. Other people's health is not my job. I feel obligated to share my knowledge. I do not feel obligated to be responsible for taking risks for others. I am as certain about the safety of my advice as I am about anything I know.

My grand daughter will be 6 in March. She is very fair complected with beautiful strawberry blonde hair. She has dark circles under her eyes but also has other symptoms or recurring issues that I'm concerned about. Over the last couple of years she's had bouts of unexplained vomiting. Sometimes it can happen within an hour of eating a meal. Several times it has happened in the middle of the night after she's been asleep for several hours. Once she vomits, she's shaken, but says she feels fine. No nausea, no stomach ache. Like many young children she struggles with constipation frequently, though we feel we've got both of these symptoms under control by limiting the amount of milk we'll allow her to have and pushing more fruit juice in its place, the vomiting has occurred at times when milk had been eliminated from her diet completely. I question whether she might need to be on a gluten free diet because she has vomited after consuming pasta and/or pizza, yet other times she eats those foods and has no problems. The other symptom that she has is the occassional nose bleed. Most often at night, but sometimes during the day. She handles them well and they are relatively brief, never lasting more than a few minutes. I have noticed that she snores (loudly) when she's asleep and it makes no difference if she's lying on her back, side or even her stomach. Plus as age 6 she still has not been able to master blowing her nose either. My question(s) to you - is it possible that all of these symptoms could be related to some sort of food allergy? Do you recommend this same "treatment" for her symptoms and is there any other additional treatment that you might recommend? Should I take the time to have her see an allergy expert? Or a sinus specialty doctor? Or perhaps both?Any info you can offer would be much appreciated. I have been truly worried about ALL of these symptoms for quite some time and not sure where to start. Don't want to waste lots of time and money seeking treatmnent from the wrong doctors or doctors that will tell me that there's nothing wrong with her because I'm sure that these "symptoms" are truly some sort of health issue that can and should be treated so that she no longer has to deal with the vomiting and nose bleeds, not to mention the dark circles that bring all sorts of negative comments from disapproving relatives that think we're (my daughter and I)not taking good care of my grand daughter. Please help.

My 6 year old grand daughter has multiple sypmtoms in addition to the dark circles. There's been random vomiting, sometimes shortly after a meal and other times it's in the middle of the night when she's been asleep for several hours. Each time after she vomits she says she feels fine. No fever, nausea or stomach ache. She's frequently constipated too. We seem to have the vomiting under control and feel it's possible that it may be related either to a lactose intolerance or possibly an allergy to gluten. Also she's had a problem with bloody noses both at night and during the day. They are mostly brief, never lasting more than a few minutes when she's awake. These nose bleeds normally don't even disturb her sleep with one exception. A couple of weeks ago, she came to me for help and there was a pretty significant amount of blood on her pj's and pillow. Enough to turn the water pink when I put them in a sink full of cold water. In addition to the bloody noses, she has always snored (loudly) in her sleep too. Plus at almost 6 years old I find it odd that she has never been able to "master" blowing her nose. It's as though she can't really blow air out through her nostrels. My question to you.....is it possible that all of these "symptoms" be related to a food allergy? Have been concerned about these things for a long time and we're not sure where to start. Don't want to waste time and money seeing the wrong doctor and fear being told that there's nothing wrong with her. We're sure that there's some sort of health issue behind all of this but don't know if we should start by seeing an allergy specialist or a sinus specialist. Or perhaps neither? Or both? Would love to get your take on this. Want to say thank you for the info on the treatment for the dark circles and will plan to try it as soon as we can purchase the suggested vitamins.

Of course you are right to be concerned about your grand daughter. The symptoms you describe are unusual for a 6 year old.

I always recommend visiting physicians. If you can, your grand daughter is worth the effort. In the meantime, try the vitamins. If the vitamins alone aren't showing obvious benefit after one month, you should definitely visit a peditrician and, in addition to another examination, ask for a tetra-cycline type antibiotic.

Good luck and keep us posted on your grand daughter's help. Our prayers are with you both.

I am going to try this with my daughter (3 y/o) who has dark circles under her eyes. Will this also help her eczema? What would you recommend for a 9 month old who has dark under eye circles? My son's (the 9 month old) under eye circles are so bad, he looks like he was socked in both eyes.

My daughter was pretty unhealthy when she was 22 months old. That's when I decided to feed her supplements. In my experience, dose is independent of age. So - I'd try the same doses on your 9 month old as your 3 year old.

In my experience with kids less than 4, there have always been obvious benefits and no side effects except for the occasional niacin flush (which is always avoidable by changing dose, form, and timing of niacin).

I strongly recommend the supervision of a pediatrician for the kids - at least once every 6 months for a lookover. If they are sick enough to need the full doses I recommend, they should have a pediatrician watching them get better.

Your kids have much to gain and little to lose by giving the vitamins a try. I'm here sending lots of positive energy for the healthiest possible future. Don't hesitate to contact me with any concerns. The littlest ones are particularly precious.

thanks for this, I have been wondering what I could do for my daughter for some time. She was anaemic as a toddler and sometimes still goes through phases of pallor with dark circles. I have hated the way my kids look and wondered wny this seems to be accepted as normal these days :(

Reading through the comments here, I wondered what UL was that you refer, because if it is anything like the RDA over here in the UK, which was developed during the war and rationing, it is in fact a minimum amount that you need to stay healthy! That was the original intention, but now there is an idea that is widespread that more than this is toxic! Very few vitamins and minerals will cause you harm unless taken at extremely high doses for a long time. Even iron, an adult would need to take 2grammes a day over a period of time to suffer iron toxicity (although it can be less for some of course), the usual dose in pills is about 14mg, so you would need to take 140 tablets for at least two weeks to poison yourself, and even a child would need about a gramme to do damage - I researched this heavily when trying to supplement my daughter as she would not take what the GP prescribed (140mg a day suspension) and no pharmacist would sell me anything, saying it's too toxic. I used SpaTone in the end, brilliant results, and I will look into obtaining the vitamins you recommend.

hi steve, thank you for posting this article. i understand the importance of the dosages for vitamin C, multi, and vitamin D/sunshine....can you explain why niacin is important in this combo? just curious what is it's action in the body, thanks!elaine

my daughter is constantly stuffy. she doesnt have the dark circles, maybe a little paler skin. She has had bouts of wheezing and most recently over the weekend, she was admitted to the ER and hospitalized because nothing was helping her wheezing. They gave her neb txs, prednisolone as well as a magnesium i/v. She is now on an inhaled steroid, nasal steroid and albuterol for the next three weeks. She is allergic to dogs and cats (prick test), the blood test showed allergies to wheat, milk and eggs but the prick test did not so they said she wasnt really allergic to those, only cats and dogs. Anyways, I hate having her on the medications. I plan to continue to full three weeks on it, but would the recommendations you have possibly help me prevent this from happening again. Is it safe to start while on the albuterol and steroids? Any help would be appreciated. my dtr is 4 years old.

Your daughter sounds a lot like my kids. I started my kids while they were also taking albuterol and steroids. At the time, my daughter was turning 2 and my son was turning 4. There is much to gain and little to lose by giving the vitamins a try.

Why niacin? I understand why vitamin C is a good idea, tried this with amazing results for my ASD 30 month year old. Understand the sunshine pitch. But why niacin? Someone else also asked why and you did not answer. Thanks. from Katy

I was googling what to give my 20 month old grandson. He is really light and has dark circles under his eyes. I'm so blessed to come across your blog. I'm headed out to purchase the products. I will happily keep you posted. Thank you and God bless.

I'm so glad I have read this. I too have a 9 yr old with the same issues. I also think she has a wheat intolerance. I took her off diary a yr ago and that seemed to work. But now she's back to looking dreadful. Should I go easy with bit c at first as her tummy is sensitive. Thanks, Sarah

My 6yr old has had dark circles ever since she was 1.5yr old. After reading your post, I started her on Multivitamins,Niacin and Vit C 500mg per day. She has taken it only for two days but is already having a few canker sores in her mouth. On researching about it, read that Vit C can cause this. I'm not sure about what I should do now. She also complained of tummy pain. Kindly help!

IF YOU ARE NOT A DOCTOR YOU SHOULD NOT BE PRESCRIBING MEDICINE WITHOUT A LICENSE , ESPECIALLY TO SOMEONE ELSES CHILD, PARENTS, ALOT OF THESE DOSAGES ARE WAY TOO MUCH FOR A CHILD, I KNOW BECAUSE I AM A NURSE, TALK TO YOUR PEDITRICIANS FOR GOODNESS SAKES. IF I WAS GOING TO GO THE NATURAL ROUTE FOR GOOD HEALTH , EVERYTHING I LEARNED IN NURSING SCHOOL PERTAINS TO DIET, FRESH AIR AND EXERCISE, EAT ORGANIC , EDUCATE AND THEN STAY AWAY FROM GMO'S , TAKE YOUR KIDS TO THE PARK OR PLAYGROUND OR JUST DO SOMETHING OUTSIDE , AND GET ENOUGH SLEEP

Hello, Steve,I am going to try your regimen for my 7yo daughter, whose dark under-eye circles are just getting darker and darker ( and she gets a minimum of 10hrs sleep/night - thank heavens she's always been a good sleeper :-) ). My question is: would a dose of *100*mg niacin daily be sufficient? I know you recommend 125mg, but it appears that most of the slow-release niacin capsules available are 500mg or greater, whereas there are 100mg capsules available, so there wouldn't be any need to muck about with giving half a capsule. ( My daughter is approximately 120cm/3.9feet tall, 25kg/55lbs. )Thank-you for your advice.

Thank you for your post! I am a mom of a 3 1/2 yr old boy. My son complains of being tired up to 20+ times a day. I have also noticed his pale face with dark circles, primarily inside the sockets of his eyes and slightly under. I have had every blood test taken, and receive little to no support from pediatricians and ER doctors. They all tell me he is normal and it must be a behavioral problem. I know my son, and actually he is one of the most well behaved kids anyone meets. His tiredness is not defiance. I feel hopeless and stuck. I have tried sunshine therapy and it does seem to perk him up a bit, but he once again gets run down very fast after being outside. I will try the vitamin regiment as well. He has always had a sensitive stomach, so do you think I should start out with less Vitamin C? Also, do you have any other suggestions about his tiredness?? Thank you so much! Your input is incredibly appreciated!

Just reading this blog and I have noticed that it is an old blog. Do you still suggest the above vitamins for children. I have a child with pale skin and dark circles under her eyes. She has allergies to peanuts and intolerance to dairy gluten and eggs (I think). Even after cutting out all the above she still has pale skin. Sometimes she can look healthy then the next minute she looks sick again. She is a good eater and healthy weight but she defiantly has some behavior problems.

I appreciate all of the feedback and information here. My 14 and 12 yr olds both have that very pale face/dark circle look. We are German descent but I never had that look as a kid, Neither did my husband. My daughter went through one year of postinfectious IBS. the doctors never figured out the cause. we resolved it by strictly following the SCD diet but it was a hard year. She was 11. She tested negative for celiac's, H. Pylori, everything. There was just no answer as to why her intestines were in such an uproar.She is pretty good about her diet as a teen but sometimes carbs win out. She does notice that carbs make her extra gassy. My 12 yr old also loves to eat junky though we don't provide junk in our house. He also loves carbs,which also leave him gassy. Last year I finally insisted to her dr that she just didn't look well. She did not have any physical complaints but she just did not look healthy. I insisted on some blood test against the doctor's recommendations and she came up very low in vitamin D as well on the low and range of iron. We live in New England so I wasn't surprised about the vitamin D. However the doctor said she is in range so there's nothing for you to worry about. I get angry about the whole "in range" theory by Drs, I would never be ok with getting paid at the low end of a pay scale and be fine with it because it is "in range". I went ahead and took her to an endocrinologist for further blood testing and he said her iron levels were far too low and that we needed to make a concentrated effort to bring it up he even suggested taking iron twice a day with vitamin C for best absorption. My daughters intestines could only handle a low-level iron supplement once a day without getting upset. It has been a slow process. We haven't noticed and improvement in her pale skin or dark circles. However there is a new book out about the intestines and it points out specifically that even though you may test negative for celiac's you could still have gluten sensitivity. It says it can show up as "low iron, winter pale skin and dark circles under the eyes". I took my son to the pediatrician and insisted that he get tested for low iron. The doctor really fought me on it but I'm unsure why. He came in lower in iron then my daughter did! The dr said just give him a kids chewable and be done with it. So there is something to the thought that these kids are not getting the nutrition they need because their gi system is. It absorbing it. I've tried higher doses of vit c with my daughter (but not the amt you recommend, a lower dose) but it gives her diarrhea. I gave her niacin once and the flush was so horrible her school almost called 911! She was in such distress!Do you have any recommendations for us as far as supplements go? Thank you!

Tamsin, your son sounds like he has a dairy intolerance. Yes, dairy - the only thing he'll eat! If you cut out dairy, he may well broaden his diet. Read the book 'Is it Really Something They Ate?' for more info. I found it illuminating.

I agree to a point. We eat organically, dont eat much sugar, I dont even own a microwave, I cook from scratch, I dont allow video games unless it is a special occasion and my kids play outside at least an hour everyday if not more (we homeschool). I have three kids and my middle one has the dark circles under her eyes and is constanly having health problems that functional medicine doctors believe to be from leaky gut causing allergies. I breast fed for just over a year, dont give antibiotics unless really needed and give kids probiotics. Some kids just need a boost or dont absorb the vitamins effeciently or because of food allergies dont eat like they should. Im going to give this a try. We tried lipospheric vit c, but it tasted terrible so we couldnt continue with it. Fingers crossed this helps my 6 year old daughter.

It’s hard to find knowledgeable people on this topic, but you sound like you know what you’re talking about! ThanksYou should take part in a contest for one of the best blogs on the web. I will recommend this site!An interesting discussion is worth comment. I think that you should write more on this topic, it might not be a taboo subject but generally people are not enough to speak on such topics. To the next. CheersHello! I just would like to give a huge thumbs up for the great info you have here on this post. I will be coming back to your blog for more soon.This really answered my problem, thank you!

Hi Steve ,I have 8 yrs old daughter.Recently I am noticed she is getting dark circles . I am really concerned for her as I myself have really bad dark circles. I want to prevent her dark circles from getting bad . I already started the doses that you recommended . My concern is if she is getting dark circles because of the genetic reasons, can we still prevent it from happening or does these vitamins will work for her too ?Thank you !! Concerned Mom

Thank you for your article, I hope it will help my 4yr old son. However, I am struggling to find time release niacin in the UK. But I have found a time release supplement with 100mg of all the b vitamins, would that work and be safe for my son? Thank you.

My son is 9 and only pale in the winter months really. I give him a 16 strain 5 billion probiotic, 3 alive gummies (1 serving), a spray of 1000mg vitd/k2 and three vit c gummies 250mg total. I'm going to try what you say just wondering about keeping the others?

Hello Steve,My daughter is 5. She is going in for blood work to check her red blood cell count, for anemia, an infection & her thyroid. She is a little more pale than usual, very white lips, puffy circles and lines under her eyes. She is more tired than usual and sort of grumpy. These symptoms have shown up this week so it's been about 6-8 days of these continuous symptoms. I recently purchased flinstones multi vitamins + iron. Do you think it would be beneficial for me to provide her with the supplements you indicated in your article? She goes to preschool (she has for two years) so she gets a minimum of 30 minutes of outdoor Play time 5-6 days a week (on non rainy days). Thank you for this article! It's very informative & i'm glad I found it!Sara

Thank you so much for this information. I found some chewable vitamin C but is says not formulated for children under 14. It is the Emergen-C 1,000 mg vitamin C chewables. I am very interested in starting what you recommend for my 6 year old. Should I choose a different vitamin C? Would you mind to share what brands you use? Thank you so much. My name is Kimberly, I don't have a profile so I have to choose anonymous, looking forward to hearing back from you.